John Harvey (December 11, 1724May 3, 1775) was a legislative leader in the
Province of North Carolina
Province of North Carolina was a province of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern Colonies, Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies, thir ...
and subsequently a leader in the creation of the
revolutionary movement
A revolutionary movement (or revolutionary social movement) is a specific type of social movement dedicated to carrying out a revolution. Charles Tilly defines it as "a social movement advancing exclusive competing claims to control of the State ( ...
in the province.
Life story
From 1766 through 1769 and from 1773 through 1775, Harvey, a resident of Perquimans County, was the Speaker of the
Province of North Carolina
Province of North Carolina was a province of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern Colonies, Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies, thir ...
House of Burgesses.
While still serving as Speaker, Harvey served as moderator, or president, of the first and second
North Carolina Provincial Congress
The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government. There were five congresses. They ...
es (1774 and 1775). The first congress, for which Harvey had distributed handbills urging people to elect delegates, was supposedly "the first popular assembly anywhere in America, called by the people and held in the presence of the king's officers, in direct disobedience to British authority." At the first congress, he represented
Onslow County
Onslow County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its county seat is Jacksonville. The county was created in 1734 as Onslow Precinct and gained county status in 1739. Onslo ...
, while at the second, he was a delegate from
Perquimans County
Perquimans County () , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Liberty Ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
'' SS John Harvey'' was built, in his honor, at a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina.